Warriors turn to Siejka after Johnson adds to injury woes

Brad Walter

FORMER Penrith playmaker Harry Siejka may be thrust into the Warriors line-up for their opening premiership clash with Parramatta after Shaun Johnson became the the club's latest big name on the casualty list.

With the Warriors tipped to edge out Newcastle for Travis Waddell to provide cover for the injury to hooker Nathan Friend, new coach Matthew Elliott finds himself looking for reinforcements at the scrumbase after injuries to Johnson and boom five-eighth Carlos Tuimavave.

Johnson hyperextended his right elbow during Saturday night's 16-10 trial win over Brisbane and will be sidelined for up to four weeks, while Tuimavave has a broken right hand and will be out for up to six weeks.

The injury means Johnson is also in doubt for the round-two clash with Sydney Roosters at Eden Park and with Tuimavave ruled out, Elliott is looking for a replacement to partner Thomas Leuluai in the halves.

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Siejka did not play in the trial at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium but the 21-year-old is expected to be available for the March 9 trip to Parramatta and he may be rewarded for his decision to follow Elliott - his former mentor at Penrith - to the Warriors.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are continuing to bolster their stocks, after Knights officials said Waddell was likely to reject an offer from them.

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Waddell, who was left without a club this season after the Raiders declined to re-sign him, played for the Indigenous All Stars and impressed Newcastle coach Wayne Bennett.

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The Knights invited Waddell to training as a back-up to injured hooker Danny Buderus and he played about a week ago in their trial against South Sydney.

However, the Warriors appear to have stolen Waddell from under the nose of Newcastle.

Waddell, who played 53 NRL matches for Canberra, will fill the void at the Warriors created by the injury to Friend, who is out for the first part of the season because of the need to have an operation on his shoulder to repair nerve damage.

Elliott played back-rower Elijah Taylor at hooker for the past two trial games, against Penrith and then Brisbane on Saturday.

After the game against the Panthers the weekend before, Elliott said he had been happy with how Taylor performed, but was concerned that he tired late in the game and felt that he would need to have someone else of quality to play hooker alongside him.

The options at the Warriors include Pita Godinet and Alehana Mara, and it appears that Elliott is also looking to add 23-year-old Waddell to the mix.

Knights officials are confident that they have enough depth to cover dummy half, even without veteran Buderus (back), and used Matt Hilder and Chris Adams in Saturday night's trial against Cronulla at Bathurst.

Bennett also has the option of moving skipper Kurt Gidley to hooker, allowing him to bring on playmaker Tyrone Roberts, who scored two tries in the trial against South Sydney.